In Other Words, Darling
by Aoi Umi Opallene
Summary: Becoming uncomfortable with Jessie's penchant for abusing his alter ego mode, Buzz Lightyear takes Woody's advice to exact a bit of harmless revenge.  Turnabout is fair play when the whole room's a stage... Buzz/Jessie, All Characters, Gen/Humor/Romance
1. Chapter 1

**In Other Words, Darling...**

* * *

A/N: Toy Story? Yes, I was unwittingly lured into fandom territory by Toy Story 3. I got a big kick out of the last line in the epilogue: "Just go with it, Buzz." But it did get me thinking. I guess I could've taken a more serious look at this specific relationship tension that I see developing in the future, but a lighthearted take came much more naturally. I hope you'll find something to enjoy in this silly li'l piece. :)

* * *

**-1-**

"Well Buzz, if it's getting to you, why don't you just do something about it?"

"No," Buzz replied, lowering his gaze to the side a little. "It's perfectly...amenable," he looked Woody squarely in the eye, "to the ends of achieving desirable" – he coughed and looked away again – "results, on many occasions."

Woody rolled his eyes. They hadn't been discussing the matter for the last ten minutes just to wind up in the same circle over and over again. Woody pitied his best buddy's dysfunction just a little bit. "Buzz, just spit it out." Woody raised his voice a little. "Tell me why it _bothers _you. Isn't that why we're here, sipping pretend espresso..."

"It's good pretend espresso," Buzz postured.

"...while they're all over there having a good time..." Woody glanced across the room and waved slightly to acknowledge a group of toys playing a high-energy game of jump-rope on the bed.

Jessie removed her hat and waved it back wildly as she flipped upside down so as to be jumping on one hand. She indicated by gestures that Woody should get Buzz's attention too.

Buzz turned around cautiously, tossed a very awkward nod in Jessie's direction, and quickly turned his back again on the rest of the room, returning to the same tense sitting position as before.

"Aw, ya moron." Woody made to toss his cup full of a cappuccino-shaped plastic mold into Buzz's face, setting it upside down distastefully after nothing came out. He tapped his finger on the table, and glanced up to see a pensive expression overtaking Buzz.

Buzz was undoubtedly considering the events of the previous afternoon.

* * *

"Brrzzzzzz!" Little Bonnie spun around and around and around beneath a maple tree in the backyard. In one arm flew the horse that had grown wings – no, rocket packs – creating a blizzard of tornado flight enabling Jessie the Cowgirl's daring escape from Dolly the Witch. But the Witch's unicorn had wings AND a rocket pack, and so Jessie would be in trouble without an equally daring rescue.

Buzz Lightyear's wings and rocket packs were the fastest of all, and it was no problem for him to swoop in and fly Jessie and Bullseye to safety up in the nearest tree branch. Well, almost. Bonnie jumped, and jumped again, but she wasn't tall enough to reach even the lowest branch. So instead, the Witch accidentally spiraled into the base of the tree and was thereby defeated.

Woody the Sheriff was also a doctor, and so he stepped in to try and heal the witch before arresting her (although it remained to be seen whether magic healing worked in the same way as regular healing). Jessie was of course a cowgirl and a veterinarian, even of magical creatures like unicorns, so healing Buttercup would be no problem.

It was time for cookies, and Bonnie ran inside expounding to her mother what perfect timing it was, because the healing would take a little while and she'd have to wait anyway.

Buttercup and Dolly sat up and high-fived each other good-naturedly. Jessie smiled delicately after Bonnie for just a second, until she caught Buzz's eyes lingering on her cheeks and ponytail. At this, she sprang up and unleashed her energy into a full-force hug, squeezing Buzz's neck quite violently and then loosening her hold to plant a short, sweet, innocent kiss-on-the-cheek of gratitude.

Buzz's lips curled into a smile, half-cocked. "Ahem," he stammered. "You were...going pretty fast there. But of course, I was fast-er-"

Jessie rolled her eyes and whistled Bullseye over. She leapt on his back, and pulled Buzz onto the horse behind her. "Hah! You wanna see fast?" She elbowed Buzz in the rib. "Giddyap, Bullseye!"

Buzz felt the crispening October air in slabs upon his face, pulling his cheeks backward and making him dizzy. Sometimes, spacemen truly came from a different world than cowgirls. He reached instinctively for his space helmet button, but Jessie intuitively snatched his arm away from it without even having to look backwards.

She now turned around with a scolding, challenging smile. "None of that, now, pardner. Feel that air! Wooooo!"

Bullseye ran around and around the tree, in circles of increasing diameter. Faster and faster! Jessie suddenly dug her heels into Bullseye's side, and he stopped on a dime. She held on, giggling as Buzz went "flying" smack into the grassy lawn ahead of her.

Buzz sat up, dazed.

Woody, looking on from the base of the tree, couldn't resist the old joke. "Hey Buzz! Was that 'falling, with style'? Ahahaha."

Buzz curled his lip at Jessie, unsure whether to be upset with her, or welcome this as another helping of her signature brand of flirting.

Jessie winked in response. She turned to the other toys momentarily, then wheeled Bullseye around to be fully facing Buzz again. "HEY, I've got an idea!" She placed one hand on her hip and the other in the air ponderously. "If this Buzz can't handle horse ridin', maybe I should try...oh...Dunno..." She clapped her hands to a flamenco beat and snapped her fingers airily.

What Buzz regretfully remembered after that was his newfound equestrian skills taking the reins, compounded with an effortless serenade performed while standing backwards on the tip of Bullseye's nose. On one foot.

"Mi cielo, yo espero que pudiéremos montar a caballo juntos para siempre!"

Apparently, everyone present had been thoroughly impressed.

* * *

Woody tried to hold in a forthcoming guffaw as he observed Buzz flexing several facial expressions. He couldn't help but bring up the other recent incident, too: "Oh, and don't forget the other night, Buzz..."

* * *

Buzz had been delivering an important lecture to other battery-carrying toys on the differences between traditional batteries and built-in rechargeable battery cells. He'd been reading instruction manuals for a week in preparation, and had even managed to pull off a skilled heist in order to borrow a piece of equipment from Bonnie's mother's room.

"Now, I've already shown you how to plug in this Nintendo DS. Simple? Yes. What I'm going to show you next is an emerging technology that, although not yet equipped for our needs, is something that you should be aware - "

Buzz paused and glanced up. He had heard a distractingly enchanting giggle from somewhere high up above and behind him. He shrugged it off.

"Well here it is. A wireless charging pad. First, you plug this into the wall, just as before, and then, there's a small switch on the underside." Buzz lifted it up carefully and switched it on. The closer toys felt an enticing energy radiate from the charging pad as he set it back down level.

A hand waved in the audience. "Oo, oo, pardon me, I have a question!" It was Jessie. She popped up quickly, suddenly becoming visible in the small crowd.

Buzz blinked and became a tad flustered. "Er...yes? Let's pause and take this question for a moment, everyone."

Jessie grinned. "Can we also have this lecture..." She took a swift, bouncing stride forward. "...in..." She was in his face, upon him – no, behind him, tickling him? – "Spanish?"

The ensuing scene, involving the charging pad and a dusting of dandelion petals (courtesy of Bullseye), was coyly concealed behind Jessie's red hat, but would nonetheless go down in PG-12 history for some time in Bonnie's room.

* * *

Buzz had kind of liked that, in the end...but now was the time to snap out of his daze. "Okay, let's just suppose," he began, "That it causes me to feel..."

"Emasculated," interjected Woody casually.

Buzz glared. "...When she's able to control my whim at her every...whim." Buzz shoved his pretend coffee aside and scanned the table in front of him as if searching for some rather more eloquent words beneath where the cup had sat.

"El whipped-o Buzz-o?" Woody tested the waters, ready to chortle.

Buzz gave a sharp glare. "No! It's not like that." He paused, collecting his thoughts. "Oh, it just isn't fair! When Jess does that, she makes ME much more likeable to everyone than...than ME. Where is _my_ intellect? My wit?" He sat back and considered this. "...I'm the one whose circuits are so malleable," he mourned with a flair of drama. "There's no helping that, I suppose. Jessie is just so...sturdy, " he blushed, "sure of herself, takes no direction and," he turned more serious, "is unable somehow to be penetrated in the very way that she can turn around and..."

Woody was suddenly howling with silent laughter and falling sideways off his chair.

"I mean, maybe she likes that Buzz more than she likes me..." Buzz trailed off quietly. After finally taking note of Woody's state, he simply raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat. He stood up to leave, finding the conversation becoming fruitless.

"Wait, Buzz!" Woody quickly flailed to a normal sitting position again. "I have an idea!"

Buzz considered this, but replied, "Thank you, Doctor Sheriff, but I have a course of action in mind."

* * *

Later that day, Woody lounged beneath the bed to beat the afternoon sunbeam heat. Even this late in the season, it tended to get warm in Bonnie's room. He was engaged in a game of checkers with Slinky Dog, just like old times. But this checkerboard had lava for red spaces and stepping stones for black spaces, and playing pieces shaped like little dinosaurs.

Woody captured a piece and placed it atop a plastic smoldering volcano accessory.

Slinky looked up sympathetically from the game board, addressing the piece that had been captured. "Doesn't do much in the way of cooling off for you little 'uns, now does it?" The tiny apatosaurus shook its head "no" regretfully.

Suddenly, a figure whooshed in from beyond the bed skirt, tucked and tumbled into a roll, and came to a halt with a tight grip on Woody's right shoulder.

Woody didn't look up from the board. "Yeah, what is it, Buzz," he said rotely.

"Woody, please allow me to hide here with you for the time being."

"Sure, Buddy. What's up?" Woody continued mechanically. "Wait...hide?"

"Jessie is looking for me, and she's got that rose in her hands. Blast! I won't have any more to do with my sexy alter ego until such time as I come to terms with this whole thing in my head, miss Jessie, and go back begging for another blazingly warm dance together!"

Woody looked personally affronted. "Buzz!" He gripped Buzz's shoulders and shook hard. "_That_ is how you plan to deal with the situation?"

Buzz shrugged, glancing over his shoulder for any sign of Jessie.

"No" Woody scolded, rolling his eyes and then demanding Buzz's attention. He shook Buzz's shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Oh no no no you don't! Do you hear me?"

Slinky, in good faith as ever, took the opportunity to slink away and give the conversation some privacy. The dinosaur checkers leapt back into their box.

"Listen to me, Buzz. Avoiding Jessie is the worst thing you could do. If you're not going to talk to her about it..."

Buzz's face lit up at that idea, as if he hadn't even considered it yet.

"...Then I tell you, you should opt for harmless revenge. Show her how it feels, right?"

Buzz, calming down now, removed Woody's hands from his shoulders.

"Now Woody," Buzz said sensibly, brushing himself off. "Think back on your experiences and tell me on what grounds you can truly _recommend _that course of action."

Woody knew what Buzz was referring to, but that was such a long time ago. And a completely different situation. There had been that window, and that lamp, and everything had fallen into such ridiculous order that it was just like a script. Once-in-a-lifetime.

"I'm telling you, Buzz, just knock some sense into her. That's all it'll take. Listen, I'll tell you what to do. It'll be harmless fun..."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Apologies(?) for the "gen" nature of this chapter, but the audience of peers is an essential part of the story I want to tell. Besides, sticking to canon sorta demanded it. Each one of the characters popped in naturally and was extremely fun to write, so I hope you enjoy this! Come back soon for a flirtatious conclusion.

* * *

**-2-**

"Alright! Alright alright! Everyone settle down," urged Dolly with her signature air of slick calmness.

"Now," she began, pacing swankily across the surface of the dinosaur checkers game box. "As you all know, even you newbies by now, we're loose and cool here –"

Buttercup and Pricklepants joined everyone in round-robin glances and nodded gleefully.

"And nobody really officiates or any kind of deal like that," said Dolly. "But, occasionally, Totoro here has got something to say to all of us."

The furry, silent giant nodded from beside the game box and broke into a grin.

"And he's usually worth listening to."

Totoro was considered by many to be a wise one, although Mr. Potato Head did characteristically "harrumph" a little.

"Today, he has gathered us all," continued Dolly, "to relay some words, and he has requested that one of our new friends deliver the speech, as a gesture of welcoming."

Everyone clapped politely.

"Ooh ooh, pick me!" Potato Head jumped up and down, waving his hand in his other hand.

"Poor critter," Jessie commented to Buzz and Woody, who stood at either side. "Ain't got no voice to speak with. Same as Bullseye, though, and I reckon he gets along all right."

Woody shrugged sympathetically and patted Bullseye on the head. Buzz coughed nervously and nodded. Jessie gave him a suspicious glance out of the corner of her eye. He'd been acting strangely this whole afternoon, but this wasn't the time for any sort of confrontation.

"Don't pick this idiot," Hamm toppled Potato Head onto his side. "If you're looking for stunning delivery and a refreshingly familiar voice," Hamm sat back leisurely, "I'm your pig."

Totoro scanned the crowd and almost immediately chose his speaker. He pointed straight at Jessie and urged her to step up to the box.

Jessie, a little surprised, approached Totoro. He handed her a scroll – no, a rolled-up collection of yellow Post-It notes, Jessie noticed, as part of it fly-papered itself to her right hand.

She leapt up on the checkers box. She half-smiled. Andy's room had been, by comparison, a bit of a man's world. There had been no problem in that; it had just fallen into a natural order that way, what with Sheriff Woody being the established leadership and all.

"Okay, howdy y'all." Jessie smiled. She unrolled the first Post-It note, cleared her throat, and began to read. "Totoro says that...the very first announcement today is by special request! Rex and Trixie...would like to announce that they are..." she squinted, finding the scribble difficult to read.

Many stared curiously and eagerly toward Trixie and Rex; others hung on Jessie's next words.

The green and blue dinosaurs joined hands, tightening their grip to the extent possible. They grinned at each other wildly.

Jessie continued, "having...no, getting...Wait..."

Rex could hardly contain his excitement.

"They are _moving_ on to the...final realm in 'Tarpit Galactica III,'" Jessie finished.

Everyone's face fell.

Rex burst out, "After two whole weeks, guys! We were about to give up on escaping from the bowels of the Space Tree Tunnel, and give up on the entire game!"

"There was no way out!" supplied Trixie. "We thought we were...trapped." She sniffled and fell into Rex's side dramatically.

An awkward silence broke out. Mr. Pricklepants clapped silently in reluctant appreciation of the theatrics.

"**Yeeeeehawww! Tell me another grreat yarn!**"

All heads turned to Jessie at the front, who blushed. She grasped clumsily at the pull string on her back and cleared her throat indignantly.

Rex and Trixie's eyes lit up. "Oh, you mean it, Miss Jessie?" Trixie leapt for joy and immediately launched into a tale about the previous installment in the series, Tarpit Galactica II. "Well, in Tarpit Galactica II, it was the ultimate world that was definitely the hardest, not the one before that. What do you call that? The penultimate world, I suppose. Of course, we don't really know yet how hard the ultimate world is going to be in Tarpit Galactica III. It could turn out the be the same situation. But Tarpit Galactica II was the first game Rex and I played all the way through together, isn't that right, Rex?"

"Yeah!" Rex enthused. "The first game doesn't actually have a two-player mode, and as much as we wanted to start at the beginning of the series, we thought it would be a lot better if we could combine forces and beat the game together. So what we ended up doing was going online to read a summary of what happens in the first game. It turned out that you don't really need to know what happened in the first game, because when you start the second, it's all recapped right there for you! With better graphics than the first game even had, I might add! So we really didn't lose out on much by not playing the very first Tarpit Galactica."

The toys stared, and the more cynical of them raised their eyebrows impatiently.

Totoro alone grinned and clapped.

"That's...really great," said Jessie, managing a sort of smile, but then glancing over her shoulder suspiciously. She next glanced discerningly at Buzz and Woody. Woody offered a shrug, and Buzz teased his eyebrows, willing them to cooperate in an encouraging sort of smile.

"Now, let's move on to the next announcement," she said warily. Then she willfully perked up. "Sound good?"

Trixie, Rex, and everyone else nodded, and the pair of dinosaurs bowed out of the center.

"The next announcement," read Jessie, "Has got to do with...Bonnie! Totoro says, 'As many of you have realized, Bonnie may lose her first tooth within a year now.'" She squinted. "'I would like to thank all of you for working so hard to develop the Tooth Fairy fund, picking up scattered coins throughout the house whenever the opportunity arises. Regretfully, I am too large to hop onto the bed myself without waking Bonnie, but I am looking forward immensely to that first tooth and the delight that others of you will bring Bonnie in acting as her Tooth Fairy.'"

Mrs. Potato Head clasped her hands at the side of her face angelically.

Jessie continued to read. "'Please everyone continue to do special things like this for Bonnie, and safely guard the reserve of coins we have worked so hard to amass.'" Jessie smiled. "Well ain't that sweet as puppy dog tails?"

Slinky wagged his tail in appreciation.

"**Somebody call the Sheriff! Bank robbers are afoot, robbin' the bank!**"

Jessie whipped a glance over her shoulder, but saw nothing. She grimaced. This was perhaps the silliest line in her repertoire due to its redundancy, and she'd never much cared for it. She didn't expect the reaction that ensued, however.

"What? But how can that be?" Mrs. Potato Head fretted. Mr. Potato Head and Mr. Prickle Pants made a rush for Hamm, and the Pizza Planet aliens followed suit, chattering excitably. Many others burst out with indignant comments, some upset about the alleged missing coins, and others protesting Hamm's being accosted.

"Hey hey hey! I am the _keeper_ of the coins, my friends!" Hamm raised his voice. "I **am** the bank! So how can I rob it, sheesh ...Don't look at me like that, Jerked Potato."

Jessie looked to the crowd in disbelief. Woody placed his forehead in his hands. Buzz directed a skeptical look at Woody. Woody and Buzz seemed to be the only ones in the crowd to have noticed that Jessie's pull-string voicebox had produced only a stock phrase. Totoro simply looked on with disappointment and confusion, as did Bullseye.

Jessie stamped one foot, lower lip curled slightly, and wheeled around, determined to spot the culprit behind her back. No one was there.

She spun back around to address the crowd, cupping her hands to her mouth: "Hey! _Listen_ to me!"

But the crazed mob was not listening, and had now worked its way up onto the bed.

"Cough it up, Sticky Hooves!" demanded Potato Head, wrenching out Hamm's plug and shaking him off the edge of the bed. Out fell $2.59 in quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies, some of them rolling along the floor and getting lost in unseen corners and beneath the bed.

"Now look what you did!" shouted Hamm.

Jessie, Buzz, and Woody scrambled onto the bed and attempted to pull the riot apart by force. "Oh come on, guys!" snapped Woody. "Back to being the bunch of lunatics you always were!"

"Oh yeah?" retorted Potato Head. "Where were you, S_heriff_, when us citizens all needed ya! You let the robbery happen!"

"You mean where was he when _I _needed him! My space is getting personally violated, which is surely illegal..." Hamm went on and on, but Woody just sighed.

"Now c'mon fellas!" pleaded Jessie, somewhat desperately. "Bonnie will be home from school soon and someone'll hafta recover all those coins before that!"

Buzz gaped. Jessie was absolutely right. He took two quick strides to the edge of the bed and looked down to survey the scattered tooth fairy savings. "Jessie!" he called, clearing his throat. "I'll start collecting them. You two should take crowd control!" He lightly mimicked a lasso motion.

Finally, some straight thinking in this ridiculous situation! Jessie blushed a pale pink, which in this moment certainly caught her by surprise. It took her a second to remember to nod in affirmation. Her gaze lingered after Buzz as he leapt over the side of the bed.

Woody looked on, trying to mask his interest, until Jessie's serious face appeared, demanding his cooperation. Now on form, Jessie and Woody easily caught the two shoelaces that Totoro tossed to them. They effortlessly knotted them into lassos and went after the biggest hell-raisers first.

From a crouch on the floor, Buzz heard Jessie's "Yeeehaaaw!" battle cry above the noise of the crowd. He smiled while standing up quickly to place an armful of nickels and dimes into the marble sack that he had tied onto Bullseye's saddle.

In an artful roundup, Jessie got Mr. Potato Head while Woody lassoed Hamm. They dragged the two in opposite directions, and the rest of the crowd backed up instinctively.

"Hey!" Mr. Potato Head protested. "That swine's still got my mustache!"

"Serves you right!" Hamm shouted back. "You all just take a look at that complacent cad, waving my stopper around like that! That's personal!"

At that moment, Totoro decided it was his duty to enter the fray. With one giant leap, he sailed into the air.

"Oh, quiet." Woody demanded. "Listen you guys, there _was_ no robbery. It was just-"

FWOOMP! Totoro landed heavily at the head of the bed, beside Jessie and Mr. Potato Head. Jessie, who had been standing close to the edge, lost her footing and teetered precariously upon it. She grasped at the shoelace, and was able to hold on. For a split second all seemed well, but then, the lasso loop tightened and slipped from Mr. Potato Head's middle up to his forehead, grazing off the nose, eyes, and finally, the hat...

"Eeeeeyah!" Jessie tumbled backward.

Buzz, from the opposite side of the bed, snapped his head up sharply. Not knowing what had happened, he leapt onto the bed, and, following the other toys' line of attention, he sprinted to the other side. Mr. Potato Head, blinded, bumped into Buzz's side as he peered over the edge intently.

Jessie had landed relatively safely upon Bonnie's folded-down purple parasol. She rolled over, rubbing her side in a small amount of pain, about to stand up, when –

Potato Head, still lacking sight, stumbled over the side of the bed as well, tumbling, tumbling, bound precisely to fall onto the handle end of the parasol.

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Woody's voice strained, recognizing what was about to happen.

Beneath the umbrella was a shoe, a perfect fulcrum to create a seesaw effect.

In a split second, Jessie's eyes widened as she catapulted once again into the air, sailing, tumbling heels over head, toward the open window. In the same split second, Buzz was instinctively calculating the trajectory, dashing for the window.

On the window ledge, he extended his arm as she sailed coming up on his left, then too far to reach, almost above his head, and they exchanged a wide-eyed glance as she kept going, falling ahead of him, and his hand grasped for her hand, then on a third try, he caught ahold...of her pull string.


	3. Chapter 3

**-3-**

Jessie came to an abrupt stop, dangling out the window by her own thin pull string. It took her a second to remember to gasp an intake of breath, then let it out; to scan her surroundings, become aware of the bronze tint of the afternoon sunlight casting itself on her shoulders, and then in her eyes as she looked up and squinted.

She tried to see into the window, but with the sun gleaming and glaring from above, it was impossible. She yelled, but couldn't decipher any of the mingled yells that returned. Struggling wouldn't do a thing. Helplessness became her, and she went limp, waiting. She was quite irritated to lose all control over the situation, but she _did _feel...safe.

In the next moment, she felt herself being lifted, hoisted up by the string, and the shade of the roof overcame her field of vision, and there was Buzz, pulling her in.

All of the toys looked on from the edge of the bed as Buzz gathered Jessie into his arms and brought her feet – rather, her knees – to a rest on the windowsill. She tightened her arms around him and communicated her relief with grinning eyes that only darted to the rest of the group momentarily.

"Buzz, gee, tha-"

"There's no need," Buzz cut her off.

"**Yeehaww! Let's saddle up and RIDE from noon til night, pardner!"**

The toys watched the end of the pull string snake its way across the windowsill, coming to a rest at one half of the couple frozen in embrace.

Jessie's face was scarlet, her eyes wide and indignant. Buzz raised his eyebrows uncomfortably.

Jessie stood up the rest of the way, now slightly exceeding Buzz's height.

The other toys suddenly broke out into laughter, some of them howling and falling onto their sides. All but Potato Head, who had not yet recovered his ears at the time of the line's delivery and looked irritated at having been left out.

Woody leapt onto the windowsill from the bed and gave Buzz a good-natured pat on the back. Buzz shot him the "told-you-so" eyes and an S-shaped grimace that really said it all, and Woody could only shrug and show his best apologetic face.

Three giggling orbs popped out of nowhere and cuddled up to Jessie, leaping into her arms. "I'll be darned," she said, making the connection that the Peas in a Pod had been nowhere to be seen earlier. She patted each one on the head, set them back onto the ground, and kindly motioned for them to "skedaddle."

Jessie looked at Buzz, and Buzz looked at Jessie. A staring contest was brewing.

But it couldn't be kept up for long. She leapt at him with a vengeful grin, going straight for the button on his right breastplate.

Buzz adeptly caught her wrist in his before she could reach the button.

A fiery Jessie immediately configured her features into an impatient pout, but she relaxed them slightly upon looking into Buzz's face. His own "challenging" face stared back at her, complete with an eyebrow raised even higher than a few seconds ago.

Jessie had gotten the message. She crossed her arms, still uncomfortable with the defeat and humiliation, and looked off to the side, trying to act casual, as if it didn't bother her at all.

But a nagging feeling to set things right overcame her. She swallowed her pride enough to reach out to that one who was dear to her, place a hand on his arm, look him in the eye and ask, "...Do you wanna talk about it, Buzz?"

Buzz considered this offer. He was about to say "yes," but refrained. It didn't seem...necessary anymore, somehow. "Nah," he declared. "At least, er," – he paused – "Not in front of all these clowns, er, that is."

Jessie grinned. "You're cute." She looked poised to give him a big squeeze or a noogie, but then relaxed her stance and softened. She gazed into his eyes for several seconds, warmth in her cheeks.

Suddenly, she made a lighting fast jab at the button, and Buzz, taken by surprise, nearly lost his balance with the force of her pressing it.

"**Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!"**

"Yeah," Jessie flashed her challenging smile again and looked him in the eye. "That sounds about right. Come an' rescue me, Ranger! Again!" She swung from the curtain cord, leapt to the ground, and began running in zigzags throughout the room, turning a few cartwheels along the way. "If you can catch me! Wheeeehoooo!"

Buzz grinned widely, shrugged, and effortlessly leapt into a two-turn mid-air summersault, landing fantastically on a bouncing ball, exactly in his element. Off it, he flew – to overtake Jessie this time with conviction...

After all, he decided, he had a new favorite phrase now. How many times would that string need to be pulled at until it got back around to that last one...? There'd be mutual exhilaration, he hoped, in this sort of sweet revenge...And turnabout is fair in love and war and play, or...All's well that ends...Something like that.

Buzz wasn't so good with words and phrases, but he did know that he would need to focus on catching her first.

And catch her he did, in a tumbling roll and a fit of giggles and a storm of competitive reaching and twisting and grabbing, each vying to be the first to activate the other's factory-built quirk. They ended up hidden behind a chair, so no toy ever saw which of them it was.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Bonnie came home to find coins scattered all over the floor, Hamm uncorked on his side, and Bullseye nearby, carrying $0.35 in his saddle.

She made it into a game, of course. Bullseye experienced outlawhood for the first time, quite enjoyed it, and made a mental note to give that Buzz Lightyear a big licking later.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading! If you have anything at all to say about the story, now's the time! Please don't hesitate to drop a quick review; I'd love to hear it. :) I never expected to write anything for Toy Story, but this has been more fun than I could imagine. Thanks Pixar, and thanks all!


	4. Epilogue

A/N: I definitely couldn't resist this little scene. It's an epilogue. Warning: Lots of laughter ahead. (From the characters of course, but I hope you enjoy it too. ;) Please be a doll and submit a review if ya do.)

* * *

**-The next day-**

"How about if I, uh, did it once? Just once and only once?"

"Uh...nope. Still thinkin' 'nope' on that one."

"Oh, to clarify, I actually meant just one wraparound. Rather than 'one time,' which is probably what you thought I meant, which is understandable, uh, I mean..."

Jessie eyed Buzz. She eyed him with an upper- and lower-eyelid squint that got progressively narrower. But her lips still smiled, faintly. Maybe. Perhaps she was smirking a tiny little bit? It was difficult to tell.

"Well, of course, there would be that, too. Only once, _and_ only one time." Buzz grinned hopefully, modestly.

"Y'know, Buzz," Woody interjected casually from a couple of levels above on the bookshelf behind them. He set down the booklet he'd been perusing. "In this situation, I would just go ahead and do it. Don't ask her about it. Trust me, she'll like it." He winked.

Jessie planted both feet firmly, straightened her hat indignantly, and glowered up at Woody, yet with a small trace of jest. "Yeah, thanks for that, Sheriff." She gave a "check" wave to further solidify the fact of her presence.

"...I'm not sure I can trust the advice," Buzz declared, deadpan, "of a man who is reading a leaflet called 'Needlework with Buttons and Other Decorative Attachments.'" He pointed to indicate the reading material.

"Hey! Now, this is just the same as your battery thing!" Woody clutched the booklet defensively, pulling it out of sight.

After a long pause, Buzz suddenly burst out laughing.

Soon, so did Woody.

Jessie smiled, rolled her eyes, turned, and stepped in the opposite direction. This was her cue to go, and let boys be boys. "Gettin' on with my day now," she announced to anyone who might be listening.

She took several more strides, but was suddenly stopped short. Her pull string had been extended to its length as she had walked.

Jessie breathed in, burst into a private grin, and suppressed a little giggle. "Golly gosh gee," she yelled back with feigned innocence. "What could be the hold-up, here?"

Buzz, standing tall, and smug, yanked lightly a couple of times on the other end of the string.

Jessie was sure she knew what it felt like to be a battery-operated toy with a circuit on the fritz.

Buzz gave one great yank and twirled her backwards. She spun around and around, and landed solidly in his arms.

The string had encircled her upper body perhaps three or four times. Her own arms were prevented from moving. She tried very hard to show indignation, for appearance's sake, but the truth was no surprise: Woody was absolutely right.

She was about to give way to a mushy sort of smile, but before she knew what was happening, Buzz was spinning her outward again.

Ah-ha! Her quick reaction time kicked in, as did her competitive urge to turn the tables on Buzz. She maneuvered her end of the string around and-

Jessie was blinded momentarily. She briefly caught sight of Buzz's helmet bending the light, and his clever grin behind the plastic.

The next thing either of them knew, they'd ended up in a pile, the string tangled haphazardly around them. They were caught in a noticeably awkward position.

One of Buzz's frontplate buttons got pressed up against something.

"**It's a secret mission, in uncharted space!"**

For a few half-seconds they stared at each other expectantly. Then Jessie burst into a hysterical laughter.

After almost a full minute, it didn't show signs of stopping. Soon, she was heaving and gasping for breath. It was the hardest she had laughed in a long, long time.

Buzz rolled his eyes, appearing to adore her amusement.

Things were always interesting when Buzz Lightyear was around.


End file.
